UCAPP

Administrator Tyrone Richardson Excels While Inspiring Others

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Tyrone Richardson
Photo courtesy of Tyrone Richardson

The Excellence in Educational Leadership Award is an annual recognition by the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) for practicing school administrators, who have concurrently made contributions to the improvement of administrator preparation. This year, a member of the University of Connecticut Administrator Preparation Program (UCAPP) faculty, Tyrone Richardson, was recognized with this award.

Richardson has served for the past six years as Principal of Betances STEM Magnet School in Hartford, CT. He holds a B.A. in Theater Arts/Communication/Elementary Education from Western Connecticut State University, an M.S. in Education from Cambridge College, and his Principal Certification 092 from Central Connecticut State University. As an alumnus of Hartford Public Schools, Richardson has a special connection with the community, and he is deeply dedicated to the success of Hartford students. At UConn, Richardson is involved with UCAPP and the UPPI Wallace redesign effort.

Richardson has worked with UCAPP for the past three years, designing and presenting class seminars on subjects ranging from the budgeting process and building teams as a leader to crisis management. This past year, he also served as a professor in practice for UCAPP PLUS courses. During class sessions, he brought practical and real-life experiences to the theories and research presented by faculty. .

Within UCAPP, Richardson serves as what is known as a mentor principal. In this role, he mentors aspiring administrators in the UCAPP program by providing them access to the school, working as a leadership role model, and assigning them an active role on the team. Richardson also supports UCAPP staff with program implementation and recently joined members at a national conference where they presented best practices, and were exposed to many rich ideas.

“He has contributed in substantive ways to the University of Connecticut’s administrator preparation program by leading workshops on topics in Educational Leadership, collaborating with University faculty to teach issues in relevant and rigorous ways, and mentoring aspiring principals from across the state of Connecticut,” remarked Associate Professor of Educational Leadership,
Dr. Sarah Woulfin.

Richardson did not always envision becoming a principal, but considered it after one of his previous principals identified his strengths, and encouraged him to join a leadership cohort. As a teacher, he always enjoyed helping students, and he then realized that by supporting teachers and other administrators he can impact the lives of even more students.

In addition to his enthusiasm in the classroom, Richardson is also an active voice on Twitter. He tweets pictures of students in the classroom as well as on field trips. Additionally, he uses it as a platform to recognize teachers, staff and students for enacting the school’s value and mission. This untraditional platform sets Richardson apart and offers new channels of communication with faculty and students.

For aspiring educational leaders, Richardson offers this piece of advice,

“Keep thinking about our future and the evolution of education as you prepare students to interact with one another. We can’t continue to teach students in the same fashion that we were taught in. Lead, model, be innovative, and put yourself out there to make mistakes. Above all be patient and remember you are working with kids. School is for them.”

UCAPP’s 4th Annual Change Project Day

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2018 UCAPP Graduates during their Change Project presentations
Photo credit: Frank Zapulla

On Saturday, April 28th, the University of Connecticut Administrator Preparation Program (UCAPP) held their 4th Annual Change Project Day at Laurel Hall on the UConn Storrs Campus. The Change Project is the capstone for the School Administrator’s 6th year certificate program, through which students identify opportunities for school improvement and develop a plan to ignite positive change in their home or mentor school.

This year, 37 graduating students presented their final projects to their host school mentors, clinical supervisors, UCAPP faculty, colleagues, friends and family. The reach of these projects went far beyond the presentation day, as they were put in practice, and directly impacted 4,500 students and 620 educators throughout Connecticut. Beyond the impact on students and educators, the UCAPP graduates gained learning that was not only supported by what they were exposed to in UCAPP coursework, but from first-hand administrative experience.

“I learned from the change project how important it is to build relationships as a leader, to support teachers and build capacity, as well as developing professional learning opportunities that are more meaningful and individualized for teachers,” offered UCAPP graduate, Lauren Poppe, regarding the experience.

Lauren Poppe
Photo credit: Frank Zapulla

Poppe’s project was centered around “Teachers Invested in Learning.” For which, she put together a book club after school for teachers that were interested in learning and growing together. The teachers met once a month to discuss the book, Joy Write by Ralph Fletcher, as well as to share student work, things they tried, and any ideas they had moving forward. Poppe explains that she developed this topic because, “Teachers were often expressing how they feel like they do not have enough say in their own learning, the curriculum they are teaching and many felt like there was little joy in the classroom for students and teachers.”

Hannah Sam, a UCAPP graduate, worked on getting higher rates of students to complete service hours with 8th grade capstone projects. Sam learned the importance of investing in appropriate structure to enact positive change, how to evaluate the big-picture in relation to student success, how to delegate based on strengths and empower team members, and how to involve parents and community members.

UCAPP graduate, Sara Spak, focused her project on the high school level. She worked with school and student leaders to add a “flexible block” of time in the school schedule to allow students to have choice in their educational decisions. She assisted in the design and implementation of a pilot offering 4 Flex Block opportunities in the Ellington High School schedule. Survey results completed by both students and teachers provided positive feedback and suggestions that led to full implementation of Flex Block for the upcoming school year.

“Giving students choice is powerful and allows students to find passion and voice in their learning.”

Sarah Spak
Photo credit: Frank Zapulla

Spak learned about the importance of listening to students in addition to educators as an administrator.  She explains, “Giving students choice is powerful and allows students to find passion and voice in their learning. This committee was led by 4 incredible student leaders who represented the voice of students throughout Ellington High School in a positive and meaningful way. Their perspectives were thought-provoking and challenged adults on the committee to think outside of the box and to impart change that did not conform with traditional norms.”

While all unique, each UCAPP Change Project was consistent with the program’s mission of preparing highly qualified school leaders to promote equity and excellence in schools throughout Connecticut. Therefore, exemplifying the readiness of the UCAPP program graduates to foster positive change in their new career path.

Sarah Barzee, Chief Talent Officer at the Connecticut State Department of Education delivered the keynote speech prior to the morning presentations. The event was a great opportunity for UCAPP graduates to present their capstone projects as well as learn from recent alumni and new school leaders.

To view the full album, please visit Neag’s Facebook page.

Community Foundation to Fund Leadership Training Project

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The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving has awarded funding for a projectHartford Foundation for Public Giving logo focused on leadership training through the UConn Administrator Preparation Program (UCAPP), a school leadership program based at the Neag School that prepares highly qualified school administrators in Connecticut. Jennifer Michno, assistant clinical professor in educational leadership, is the principal investigator for the project.

According to Michno, the purpose of the project, now funded through its first year, is to infuse 10 hours of research-based content in the areas of family, school, and community partnerships into the UCAPP curriculum. In addition, Michno says, the project seeks to build the capacity of practicing school administrators in these areas and to expand statewide knowledge of family, school, and community partnership practices as a means of influencing student achievement.

“[This award] will advance our work to prepare school leaders committed to excellence and equity for every school community in Connecticut.”

— Richard Gonzales, director of Neag School educational leadership preparation programs

Anticipated outcomes of the project include implementing pilot curriculum modules in UCAPP during the 2017-18 academic year; designing measurement tools to assess the impact of this curriculum on aspiring leaders and practicing administrators; and collaborating with partners at UConn, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, and others across the nation in exploring ways to reach teacher preparation programs with UCAPP’s curriculum materials.

“We congratulate Jen on securing this significant award, which will advance our work to prepare school leaders committed to excellence and equity for every school community in Connecticut,” says Richard Gonzales, assistant professor-in-residence and director of the Neag School’s educational leadership preparation programs.

Funding totaling $208,103 has been awarded for the project’s first year, with future funding to be sought following completion of the expected outcomes for year one of the project.

Learn more about UCAPP at ucapp.education.uconn.edu. For more information about the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, visit hfpg.org.